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As you have no doubt seen by now, Blizzard produced a limited quantity of scale models of their campus Orc statue that were distributed to players who have held an active subscription since World of Warcraft was launched. Feedback on the move has been mixed.

The immense marketing value Blizzard has gotten out of this clever PR move cannot be overstated, but a number of players have complained that the promotion has left them feeling devalued as subscribers or long-term supporters of the company.

Fundamentally, the opposing argument is that Blizzard was not obligated to provide any kind of gift or recognition of their decade-long game subscribers, and in doing so have distinguished themselves yet again from other game development studios.

With no other available metrics to work from - the majority of Blizzard's titles have been sold in brick and mortar stores, and required no subscription or ongoing fees - sending gifts out to consistent WoW subscribers is probably the first (and, to date, only) realistic way this kind of project could have been undertaken.

Having said that, the impact that this has had on players who didn't receive a gift for whatever reason has clearly been felt. Examples ranging from military service to hospitalization have been cited for subscription gaps, which - again, despite the need for a reasonably objective metric on Blizzard's part - raise a lot of emotional reactions.

Hopefully Blizzard both learned some lessons from this process, but also continue to find clever ways to give back to their players and fans. Regardless of personal opinion or feelings on their inclusion or not, the last thing anyone wants to see is Blizzard stop providing these kind of incentives or rewards, because it is one of the stand-out things about them in the industry.

Here is one very positive response to the statuette's delivery we thought deserved to be shared: